The upcoming Assassin’s Creed film will have the atmosphere of the games but its characters and artifacts are all new.
The team making the movie explained that they wanted to start over with the franchises mythology.
“We essentially did them all on our own because we wanted to have an original script,” said executive producer Pat Crowley. “It’s a movie that’s based on the game, but it’s not a movie that is the game.”
The film is directed by Justin Kurzel, who explained that he wanted to have a brand new approach that didn’t focus on characters used before. Since those had already been used, he wanted to offer viewers something new.
“It was about trying to inject a new character who can have some sort of relationship with the game perhaps in the future. It was essentially about finding a character that was fresh,” Kurzel said. “It’s an origin story too. It’s about a man that doesn’t realize he’s an Assassin in the present day and discovers that and discovers skills and discovers an identity and discovers that he’s part of a tribe. That became the real focus that we concentrated on. We needed, especially in the present day, a character that enabled us to do that.”
Crowley and Kurzel worked closely with Ubisoft to ensure the film stays true to the game. Ubisoft ambassadors also would come to set to offer their approval.
“The movie exists within the rules and the world that Ubisoft has set up that Assassin’s Creed can take place in,” said Crowley. “We just went ahead and created a new story that respected the rules, that a gamer could come and go, ‘I know this world.’”
The characters aren’t the same but apparently there will be references to the characters in the games. Be sure to expect plenty of nods and hidden Easter eggs throughout the film.
Though 80% of the weapons were created from new, expect to see the Guillotine Gun from Assassin’s Creed Unity, Connor’s bow from Assassin’s Creed III, Baptiste’s sword from Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and many others.
“We’re just going to have it in the background somewhere so the fans can watch it and spot these things,” he said.
The movie is set to be the first of a trilogy if all goes well and star and producer Michael Fassbender said that work had already begun on a second movie, and they have the idea for what a third will be as well.
“It’s not a one-off,” said Crowley. “Everybody expects that this movie will continue.”
Assassin’s Creed hits theaters on December 21, 2016.
